July 20     Attachment vs. Freedom 
July 27     Anger vs. Acceptance
Aug 3      Jealousy vs. Rejoicing
Aug 10    Insecurity vs. Confidence
Aug 17    Poor Mind vs. Rich Mind
Aug 24    To be announced
Aug 31    No class

According to Buddha, our unhappiness and problems come from painful and distorted states of mind which we call delusions. The essence of Buddhist practice is to identify and let go of these delusions, and gradually to replace them with their virtuous opponents; peaceful and clear minds which produce happiness. In this course we will be given practical guidelines to bring this about through meditation and daily life practice.

Everyone welcome.

The new Foundation Program class will begin Thursday March 27, and will be held at St. Barts. on Thursday
evenings from 6:30 to 9:00 pm, taught by Buddhist nun Kelsang Tsoglam, an experienced practitioner and
popular teacher from Chakrasambara Center in Manhattan. She has been personally asked by Kadam
Morten to teach this class. The book we will be studying is Eight Steps to Happiness. 

The class on March 27 will be an introduction to the Foundation Program in general and to the book Eight
Steps to Happiness itself.  After that, you will be welcome to attend three more classes before deciding
whether or not to formally enroll in the program.

About Eight Steps to Happiness.

Eight Steps to Happiness by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, a beautiful book on Lojong, or training the mind, is a perfect manual for bringing your practice to life. Eight Steps to Happiness contains sections on developing pure love, perfecting the mind of compassion, developing Bodhichitta- the supreme good heart, and one of the most accessible and profound explanations of Emptiness to be found anywhere.  There is also a wonderful section containing a wealth of practical advice on how to practice in daily life, transforming all problems into the spiritual path.

Length of study, prerequisites, and cost.

The Foundation Program is a structured study program designed to enable the student to gain a deeper
understanding and experience of Buddha's teachings. When joining the FP, you commit to completing the text that is being studied (or a section of the text if it is one of the longer ones). The length of the course
will therefore depend on many factors, but we can say with confidence that Eight Steps to Happiness will
likely take 12 to 18 months to complete. 

The class will meet every Thursday evening with occasional breaks, and attendance is required. Each week there will be reading assignments from the text and discussion on the week's reading. If students were to miss class repeatedly, they would fall behind in the readings and the discussion aspect of the class would be disrupted.

The cost of the class is $15 per week.

It is recommended that you pick up a copy of Eight Steps to Happiness by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso for this
first class. You can purchase this at the Vajralight Center bookstore or on-line at http://tharpa.com/us/books.php. This book will be required reading for the program.

If you have any further questions about the program, please understand that many of them will be answered in the introductory class, but if there is something you feel you need to speak to someone before then, please call  at (212) 924-6706 between 10 am and 5 pm Monday through Friday.

If you would like to attend, or for more information please email us.